Our take on commercial spaces: retail differently
For archipelago, thinking differently about commercial spaces means working to a high level of demand for sustainability and user experience quality. According to these principles, when we work with international companies such as McDonald's or Q8, it is to help them anchor their projects in an more ambitious urbanistic approach. We strive to design efficient structures with minimal environmental footprint. We also focus on the daily experience of both customers and workers by creating sales areas with abundant natural light and incorporating the latest technological developments, such as e.g. Multipharma's flagship pharmacy.
A different kind of restaurant
For its new restaurant located on a major road between Hasselt and Genk, McDonald’s wanted to create a building embodying the values of sustainability adopted by the company. With this in mind, we have redesigned the typology and envelope of the typical restaurant in order to take into account the context and the site’s orientation. Based on our performance-based design approach, the volumetry and the characteristic facades of the building are the result of thorough optimisation of the energy performances, aiming at the right balance between visual comfort and thermal gains. We have also chosen wood as a coating, both indoors and outdoors, for its environmental and aesthetic qualities.
The end result is an atypical restaurant, welcoming and immediately identifiable, combining contemporary aesthetics and optimal functionality. Under its notable sloped roof, the monolithic volume of 470 m² can accommodate nearly 150 customers. The outdoor terrace, facing south, offers an additional capacity of 60 seats, and an indoor extension of 66 seats is possible on a adaptable mezzanine upstairs.
Providing services in a sustainable infrastructure
On its Aische-en-Refail concession, Kuwait Petroleum wanted to build a new, fully integrated and secure motorway station, focused on customer service, and prioritising energy savings and sustainability. To meet this challenge, we have proposed an atypical building, whose original semispherical volumetry is directly inspired by the concepts of climatic architecture: the building is designed in order to make the most of the sunshine and all other climatic parameters specific to the site.
With twin objectives of user comfort and respect for the environment, our design choices were based on natural and / or recyclable materials: wood frame, zinc roof with plants and vegetation. In the same way, the technical choices focused on efficient systems with high environmental quality and using renewable energies. We also kept a maximum of existing roadways in order to limit the environmental footprint of the site’s transformation. Following this exciting development, we are delighted to have been able to continue our collaboration with Q8, which has entrusted us with its gas stations projects in Thieu and Verlaine.
Leveraging technology and the customer experience
Located close to Erasmus University Hospital, the flagship pharmacy of the Multipharma group is installed in a completely open and very bright space. Multipharma’s wish for this project was to combine innovative technologies in order to develop a new pilot pharmacy that reduces pharmacists’ logistical tasks and journeys: an automated robot ensures the intelligent storage of 20,000 boxes of medicine while a system of pneumatic tubes feeds the 6 counters distributed in the sales area.
To house this state-of-the-art equipment, we have designed a setting that reflects the ambitions of the group: an airy glass volume bathed in natural light, providing a pleasant customer experience. With double height and entirely dedicated to health and well-being, the open reception and sales area attracts and reassures thanks to its clarity and its link with the outside world. A second volume encased in aluminium integrates the robot, the technical functions and staff support. It also includes an area dedicated to more confidential exchanges. With this unique pilot project, we are proud to have been able to support Multipharma to meet the health challenges of tomorrow.
Case study - KVKL